What are you playing right now? (3 Viewers)

[Jeff Cooper]

Yeah, the timed stages are score/time based. You have a certain amount of time to reach each checkpoint. If you run out of time before crossing the checkpoint the stage is over and you end with whatever score you have. There is an actual end if you can make it in time. The score is based on shooting things. You build up a multiplier when you shoot things, and it drops when you don't shoot things. You can see the multiplier bar on your wrist. So in order to get a high score, you have to move quickly and constantly be shooting things.

The goal is to have a high enough score at the end to get a 3 star rating. This is actually extremely difficult. Even getting just 1 star and/or reaching the end of the level is very tough. To get 3 stars you basically have to have John Wick skill throughout the entire thing.

 

[CraigF]

^ Let's just say I didn't even know you could get stars at all. I tried different methods of reaching the finish line and could never figure out a correlation between what I did and my score...

Edit: BTW, are you going to get Firewall? It sounds essentially multi-player, the single-player sounds lame-ish to me, not really the main point of the game. I only know one person who has a PSVR (I kind of convinced him...) so that's fine for a bit of Farpoint. But I don't really know anybody else who games, it's certainly not super-common in my age group. Firewall will join you up with random people; it's not something I like at all, but might be OK since everybody has the same hardware/gear/"rules" (compared to online PC games).

 

[Jeff Cooper]

No, I absolutely loathe playing online with people, so I avoid multiplayer games like the plague. VR is even worse. With such a smaller install base, lots of VR multiplayer games it's tough to find a match. I'm in the same situation as you, I'm 43 and absolutely none of my friends are into gaming, so it's deal with all the psycho teens when I go online.

 

[CraigF]

^ 43 is a mere pup compared to me! I can hang with the young players, it's not their age, more their attitudes that are quite different from my "era". Gaming seems actually important to them, as though it's some real "achievement" rather than just a fun thing to do. I suppose it's to be expected, sports has that dichotomy of importance for all age groups, forever, and gaming is the new sport on the block.

So the win at all costs and by any method attitude rubs a bit, to me the playing is the thing (sorry Shakespeare). The flakiness of many online players is probably my biggest problem with it, there seems to be no thought that people are giving up real time to set up games, and they may or may not show up at appointed times, or just suddenly ghost meaning everybody else is left hanging. Best to play online with friends, or at least people you somewhat know.

So Firewall isn't on my list to play. Seems like it would be a great game to play in dorms or on campuses etc., and if you could use local servers, that could be very good.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I sort of finished playing Hollow Knight on Switch. It was good, but way overrated from how the reviews make it sound. It's clever and well done but simply having a lot of stuff to do doesn't mean that stuff is all that fun. I am at 87% completed (IIRC) and I have no real interest in doing the rest, including a secret area that I've heard great things about but the work to get access to it turns me off.

Next up is Nier: Automata. Borrowed it from a friend months ago (in exchange for God of War) and have been meaning to play it all summer.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

^ 43 is a mere pup compared to me! I can hang with the young players, it's not their age, more their attitudes that are quite different from my "era". Gaming seems actually important to them, as though it's some real "achievement" rather than just a fun thing to do. I suppose it's to be expected, sports has that dichotomy of importance for all age groups, forever, and gaming is the new sport on the block.

So the win at all costs and by any method attitude rubs a bit, to me the playing is the thing (sorry Shakespeare). The flakiness of many online players is probably my biggest problem with it, there seems to be no thought that people are giving up real time to set up games, and they may or may not show up at appointed times, or just suddenly ghost meaning everybody else is left hanging. Best to play online with friends, or at least people you somewhat know.

So Firewall isn't on my list to play. Seems like it would be a great game to play in dorms or on campuses etc., and if you could use local servers, that could be very good.

For those of you who do like multiplayer games and have VR, Firewall is reportedly very excellent.

 

[CraigF]

The Witcher 3 (complete edition). Wondering what you guys think of it, what other commonish game (I might have played) that you could compare it to. For single player offline, if that matters. If it's a bit "too much" like another common game (they do like to "copy success" to some extent), I wouldn't mind knowing that too. Thanks.

 

[Ruz-El]

The Witcher 3 (complete edition). Wondering what you guys think of it, what other commonish game (I might have played) that you could compare it to. For single player offline, if that matters. If it's a bit "too much" like another common game (they do like to "copy success" to some extent), I wouldn't mind knowing that too. Thanks.

I'm dying to play it but have been holding off on buying it since I'm too stacked with long-ass RPG style games.

 

[CraigF]

^ Like me you've probably noticed the Complete Edition is reasonably-priced now in Canada... I've heard lots of people mention it, I think maybe in comparison to Skyrim, but I don't remember for sure.

I am kind of thinking of going back and playing some more VR Skyrim. I haven't played since months before they upgraded the graphics a couple months ago, just had a quick look around to see how it changed. With all the time I've played Skyrim, and multiple "games", there are still plenty of places I haven't truly been (that I know of, just went to to get the future FT option) and questlines I haven't done, even though I try to go to new places and do completely different things each time. It is a huge game.

Edit: hmmm, lots of people say Witcher 3 feels really clunky after you've experienced the game mechanics of Horizon: Zero Dawn, which is the last game I played. Even though they like Witcher 3, especially the DLCs. I did generally like the mechanics of HZD, some beefs with the climbing aspects but more positive than negative re that. The combat felt pretty natural, would have preferred smarter machines and bandits, maybe next time. God of War seems commonly recommended as a "worthy" successor to playing HZD...

 

[Ruz-El]

Yup, every time it hits around $25 on the PSN sale I consider it haha.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

The Witcher 3 is much closer to Skyrim than Horizon: Zero Dawn. I would never have even thought to compare it to Horizon. God of War is all around excellent and should be played by everyone with a PS4.

 

[CraigF]

^ They were only comparing the combat mechanics of Witcher 3 to those of HZD, not the games themselves. Not really a huge deal for me, IDK how they are in W3, but they can't possibly be worse than some of the earlier PS3 games (incl. PS2 ports) I've played...I'd get used to it.

OK, GoW when it gets cheap. I say "cheap" because half the games I buy I only play for a very short time and then they get shelved. I gather this is pretty common. May be no good reason either, just circumstances, something else came up, then something new(er) caught my eye. The web is a real hype machine for big new games, with new PSVR games possibly the worst, but the praise for GoW continues even now, so it must be the real deal...

Anyway, I tried to play a bit of Skyrim VR, first time in 5 months, first proper attempt at play since the last update. I had no idea how to do anything, didn't even remember how to equip or pull a weapon, or use it the first time I got attacked. Good armor and companion helps. I didn't even remember you have to aim a bow by looking at the target, slightly above it if at range...pretty much a disaster, but I haven't used a bow in Skyrim for long before I quit playing. The update cleared most of my game settings, and they're different now, lots of things are different. Movement sure seems faster now, but smoother in some ways, almost too fast for my plodding pace. Things look a little more vibrant and clearer. There are some strange video artifacts I can see in the menus though, but the fancy-looking 3D Skills menu sure does work more easily. Even the inventory system seems to work faster, it seems less bogged-down for really filled storage containers. I spent a stupid amount of time looking at everything in the inventory menus too, all the objects are in 3D now and you can stick your face right into them and see the amount of (previously obscured) detail they went to, some of it looks amazing.

I am unsure if I'm supposed to (or not) use Supersampling or Boost modes now. I didn't before in Skyrim VR (for one, SS doesn't "make sense" to me for headset use), and I don't now. Didn't play enough to get much into it, just enough to get my bearings. I usually leave off from a game in a "ready to go" state, JIC I come back to it a long time later, but the settings changes/update threw me and I spent most of my time just getting those back to how I liked. I am not liking the new HUD transparency settings sometimes, maximum opaqueness can still get lost in sunlight. And when I'm riding a horse, the compass is way too high for me to see without having to tilt my head noticeably skyward (assume it's intended, some prefer less "VR intrusion"); the new compass position settings don't work for when you're riding.

 

[LeoA]

Bought Axiom Verge on sale and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Brothers 3 on the Wii U eShop.

Haven't gotten around to Axiom Verge yet, but I'm enjoying this Game Boy Advance port of the 16-bit Super Mario All-Stars remaster of Super Mario Bros. 3. I bought this on the GBA when it hit the Player's Choice line and still own it, but this digital release has a lot of extra content I didn't have access to.

The GBA had an odd add-on accessory called the e-Reader with cards with magnetic strips. Super Mario Bros. 3 was the flagship e-Reader enhanced game. By scanning these cards, you unlocked new levels and features in a bonus 9th world. I never had an e-Reader though and most of the cards never left Japan, so the inclusion of all this extra content is brand new to me.

And the NES Classic Edition controller works beautifully here. Had to do a little bit of remapping in the Virtual Console settings since a shoulder button on the GBA was used for opening your item inventory, but mapping it the unused NES select button takes care of it.

My only complaint about the Wii U emulation is a minor one. This is one of two or three Game Boy Player enhanced GBA games with controller rumble when played on the GameCube. Would've been neat to see the controller rumble here on something like a Pro Controller, but it's not present.

 

[Don Giro]

Witcher 3 and Skyrim are neck and neck for the greatest RPGs of all time. There are moments in Witcher 3 that stand with the best fiction I've read...

I started Dragon Quest XI (may as well put the PS4 I got for Christmas two years ago to good use), and it's a hoot, although I'm already regretting that I followed some folks' advice that you shouldn't start "grinding" before you meet certain "key" people. I'm building my first PC right now, and soon plan to mod the hell out of Skyrim and experience it all over again...

 

[Ruz-El]

I've abandoned Kingdom Hearts for the time being. I enjoy the characters, the story is fine but the gameplay. Oof. The fighting is bearable, but the Gummy Ship garbage to traverse the worlds? It's just a ball ache. Has anyone played this? Do I need to worry about upgrading the gummy ship in it's incredibly confusing upgrading screen? It's a game I've been dying to play for years but I'm just not into it.

I've started Yakuza Kiwami (currently free on the PS+) another series I've been itching to try and OMG I LOVE IT! They do a great job of easing you into the game before unleashing you on the world in chapter 4. Compared to GTA and what not, it's a small world, but packed to the gills. Some of the fighting is admittedly repetitive, and the Majima drop rate of challenges is a bit annoying frankly, but they (so far) play fair and the storytelling is fantastic. At least, it was until chapter 4, I'm so completely sidetracked with mini-games and substories that I'm yet to start the main plot! I'll be finishing this one.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Kingdom Hearts is good but, yeah, I completely forgot about the gummy ship stuff. IIRC, it kind of becomes optional later on and isn't even in 2.

 

[Bryan^H]

I don't have it yet, but I will be playing this tomorrow. The reason I'm buying into Sony VR-a game from my favorite game developer that screams my kind of game. Looks unique in the style of Echo Night. I honestly cannot wait.

 

[Ruz-El]

Kingdom Hearts is good but, yeah, I completely forgot about the gummy ship stuff. IIRC, it kind of becomes optional later on and isn't even in 2.

I might go back to it since it is such a cool idea. That Gummy thing really put me off since it makes little sense in the customize screen and it's kind of the last thing I want to do when I play an RPG. Shame too that they couldn't have done save states on the PS4 port. That's the other thing that kind of killed me on it, knowing I'd be locked into an hour of solid playtime with no breaks if I had to stop early. Makes playing on a work night a hassle.

I know Yakuza Kiwami is a rebuild as opposed to a port, but by adding a save at anytime mechanic (I'm guessing they added it), I can do a little bit and not worry about getting trapped in something that takes an hour. They've left the old Phone Booths in the game so you can still save there and access your extended inventory, but by making the game more flexible to play allows me to play it more often.

 

[CraigF]

I don't have it yet, but I will be playing this tomorrow. The reason I'm buying into Sony VR-a game from my favorite game developer that screams my kind of game. Looks unique in the style of Echo Night. I honestly cannot wait.

I know I'm terrible at judging a game by (promo) videos, but what the heck does this video tell you about the game? I couldn't get the slightest sense of the game from it. I hope you've seen other videos to get you to spend this amount of $$ (admittedly smallish these days) on PSVR just for it. Now, if you had said you're buying-in just for Astro Bot ($20 soon, already ~that in UK), I'd get it. Regardless, lots of good PSVR games compared to a little over a year ago, the system won't go to waste.

 

[Bryan^H]

I know I'm terrible at judging a game by (promo) videos, but what the heck does this video tell you about the game? I couldn't get the slightest sense of the game from it. I hope you've seen other videos to get you to spend this amount of $$ (admittedly smallish these days) on PSVR just for it. Now, if you had said you're buying-in just for Astro Bot ($20 soon, already ~that in UK), I'd get it. Regardless, lots of good PSVR games compared to a little over a year ago, the system won't go to waste.

Welcome to the world of From Software A story, or coherent stories really do not exist in their games as far as I know. Usually a confusing mess with themes to carry the game --frorm King's Field, to Echo Night the story is never the key(at least for myself) it is the gameplay and strong sense of atmosphere that make me such a fan of them.
This game is the perfect excuse for me to get the PS VR, but in fact there are also many other games I have been dying to play, so I guess I am covered.​